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Scripture for the day: Hebrews 11:36-39 Still others had trials of mocking and scourings, yes and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins, and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountain, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.
Thought for the day: George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) is sitting at the dining room table having dinner with his dad while his younger brother hurriedly gets ready for his high school graduation dance. Everyone is excited for their own reasons, including George. Harry, his brother, is excited about the prospect of a great time at the dance while George is thrilled because, as he put it, “Ah, my last meal in the old Bailey Boarding House!”
You see, George has plans; he’s going places and doing something with his life. He’s already put those plans on hold while working with his father for two years at the Bailey Building and Loan so he could save enough money to go to college and now the time has come. George is going to, as he put it, “Shake the dust off of this old town and see the world!” He’s going to build bridges and skyscrapers and do things that will make a real difference.
George’s father looks across the table and says, “I was kind of hoping you might come back and take over at the Building and Loan.”
“Oh Pop,” replies George, “I just couldn’t spend my life cooped up in some stuffy little office, scraping for nickels and dimes. I want to build things and do something important with my life.”
“In some small way, I like to think we are doing something important,” says his father.
I’m not going to give you the entire dialog or recount the whole movie for you (though I probably could as I’ve seen it more times than I can count). If you want to whole story you’ll have to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life” for yourself. But here’s the point: every time George gets close to realizing his dream of getting out of Bedford Falls and making something of himself in the world, as all his boyhood friends have done, something happens to spoil his plans and he ends up running the Building and Loan, settling down with his wife Mary, and living what most would consider a rather dull and uneventful life. It’s not until he’s been caught up in serious trouble not of his own making, is threatened with financial ruin and possible prison time, and is contemplating suicide that his guardian angel, Clarence, shows up to restore his sense of perspective.
I wonder how many people go through life like George Bailey, thinking, wishing, they were created for greater things; more than we’d like to admit I’m afraid. There is a built-in something that says: “I matter! I am somebody! I was meant for more than life is showing me.” And so many struggle all their adult lives trying to prove the truth of that statement when the truth is they’re right whether anyone else believes it or not.
Did you notice that in today’s scripture no names are given? Possibly the names were omitted because neither the writer nor those around him even knew the names of those heroes of the faith. They were obscure at best, living and dying in a world that never gave them much more than a second glance – just before they were martyred for the stand they took and the message they brought.
And how are you doing? What, of these things, have you experienced? Has the world you live in mocked you for your faith? Have you been beaten and thrown in jail for the stance you’ve taken for Jesus? Stoned? Evicted from your home and forced to live in a “cave”? Destitute? Afflicted? Tormented? No, you say? Well, for many of us, the daily grind of life can be just as difficult. Satan seems to know just the right buttons to push that will torment, afflict, ridicule and defeat us. But perhaps that’s not you at all. Perhaps you’ve maintained your sense of perspective in that regard.
Do you sometimes feel invisible, as if you’re not making the difference you know you were created for? You look around at others who’ve shaken their world just by being in it and wonder what happened to the dreams and plans you had when you were young. You can’t see that the world is any different because you’ve been taking up space and using up oxygen. You may feel today like one of the 200 men David left behind to guard the supplies while he took the other 400 to fight a mighty battle; you’ve done what you could but remaining out of the heat of battle to guard a storehouse of supplies has convinced you that your life isn’t as important as that of the others. David said, “As is his part who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.”
In other words, if you’ve changed one life, if you’ve inspired one person to seek Christ, if you’ve lived quietly in the background while others seemed to get all the glory and accolades, you’re no less important to the Savior and the contribution you are making is no less significant that than of a John Wesley or a Billy Graham. Think about it in eternal terms and you’ll realize: “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
Now go take on your world. - Bill